Meanwhile, on another street, Cecilia's mother was fighting her way through the tide of people, frantically searching for her child.
She didn't know what she had been thinking, bringing Cecilia to a place like this. Perhaps it was the look in her daughter's eyes when she asked what a festival was? To be honest, Feoria had always felt a deep sense of guilt regarding Cecilia's birth. Given her lineage and the current circumstances, it was clear that the girl's life would never be a peaceful one.
Feoria had considered moving out of Laterano, but the question was always: where? How would they survive? And for those who left, the chances of being discovered by the Notarial Hall weren't necessarily lower than they were here.
"Cecilia, my Cecilia... please, don't let anything happen to you!"
She searched every corner of the street. She knew her daughter was obedient; if she told her not to wander, the girl wouldn't move an inch. Furthermore, child abduction was virtually non-existent in Laterano. Feoria simply couldn't understand how the child had vanished in the blink of an eye.
"I've looked everywhere and found nothing. She must have wandered far... what should I do now?"
Feoria was at a loss. What would any other parent do if they lost a child? They would go to the Notarial Hall for help. There was an Executor on duty barely fifty meters away; for a normal family, explaining the situation would lead to the child being found in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
The Executors dealt with this constantly. Sankta were generally cheerful, and mischievous children were common. Even Feoria herself had been lost a few times as a kid. But... Cecilia wasn't a normal child. She couldn't let an Executor find her, or the trouble would never end.
"Are you... Feoria? Has something happened?"
As she hurried down a street, a voice called out. She turned to see a burly Forte. Feoria recognized him; he was one of Andoain's men. He had helped her before when she took Cecilia to see her father.
"The child! Cecilia is missing!"
The Forte was startled. He hadn't expected Feoria to actually bring the child out, let alone lose her. He didn't think keeping the girl locked at home was the right answer either, but this was an outcome he hadn't foreseen.
"Don't panic yet. Let me see who I can get to help find her."
He went to find his companions. His main concern was that since they had chosen a relatively secluded spot for their meeting, the child might have wandered into a truly dangerous area. Besides, after the Leader returned from delivering the letter, he seemed to place a lot of importance on that child... whether that was true or not, using the Leader's name was the best way to motivate the others to help.
"Do you remember any specific buildings near where you got lost?"
Jeanne and Cecilia were walking along the street. Since carrying the girl in her arms was a bit awkward, Jeanne had opted to give her a piggyback ride, ensuring her own hands were free in case of an emergency. Cecilia had regained some of her spirit and was trying hard to remember, but there had been so many statues and sights she hadn't seen before that it was all a blur.
"Um... I'm sorry. I can't remember."
She apologized in her soft, small voice. She was the one who got lost, yet she couldn't even provide a clue to find her mother. Cecilia's mood began to sink again as she stared listlessly at the passing scenery.
"It's okay. If you can't remember, you can't remember. This street isn't that big; we'll find your mama eventually."
Jeanne felt the girl's slump against her back. She couldn't tell if the child was just shy or overly sensitive, but she clearly carried a lot on her mind. She wondered how Lemuen's investigation was going—had she found the family yet?
"Sister, you aren't a Sankta, are you? What race are you?"
After a while, Cecilia noticed the lack of a halo and wings and asked out of curiosity. This was her first time seeing someone who wasn't a Sankta or a Liberi; everyone she had seen before, from her mother's friends to people she peeked at from her window, either had halos and wings or feathers.
"Me? I'm not a Sankta, no. But as for what race I actually belong to... even I haven't quite figured that out yet."
To be honest, Jeanne had often thought about how to describe herself. There are only a few "humans" left in this era, after all. Her physical condition was vastly different from a human's anyway; she was more like a Heroic Spirit who had regained a physical body. Eventually, she had decided to just stop worrying about it. What use was there in obsessing over a label?
"Then where did you come from? What is it like there? Are there people who look like you, like in Laterano?"
Cecilia was clearly curious about the world outside. She had heard names in her mother's stories but had no concrete image of them. Hearing that Jeanne was from outside Laterano, her anxiety was momentarily eclipsed by her curiosity. She watched Jeanne with wide, inquisitive eyes.
"I came from a small place in Ursus. It's covered in white snow all year round. Do you know where Ursus is?"
Cecilia nodded vigorously. She knew about Ursus; her mother said it was very far away, a journey that could take a whole year on foot. She also knew about the snow—snow so deep it could bury a little Cecilia! She really wanted to see it for herself someday. She knew it was a massive country with many nomadic cities, and that the people there mostly had fluffy ears, like teddy bears.
From her vantage point on Jeanne's back, Cecilia peeked left and right, trying to find Jeanne's ears. Has she hidden them? The topic seemed to open a floodgate for the little girl, who began chattering away about the stories she had heard, the fear of being lost fading further into the background.
"Oh! When did the pink-haired sister get over there?"
At that moment, Lemuen appeared, having returned from the Notarial Hall. By now, Jeanne was used to these "coincidences." However, Lemuen's expression was uncharacteristically complex. She forced a smile as she approached.
"I went to buy you a marshmallow, of course."
She handed a large marshmallow to Cecilia. The girl scrambled down from Jeanne's back with excitement, took the treat, and chirped, "Thank you, Sister!"
Jeanne noticed a few empty marshmallow sticks tucked behind Lemuen's arm. Clearly, she had checked several stalls along the way to see if anyone was reporting a missing child—and had helped herself to a few snacks in the process.
Where's mine? Jeanne's eyes asked the question. Lemuen just scratched her head with a grin and said nothing. Instead, she handed a black device to Jeanne—a data terminal from the Notarial Hall, which Lemuen had managed to borrow thanks to her rank.
Jeanne took the high-tech gadget with confusion. She wasn't exactly a tech expert, and the interface looked complex. But she had her "Revelation." Following the divine guidance, she had the device open and running before Lemuen even had a chance to explain how to use it.
Cecilia was currently preoccupied with her giant marshmallow, a look of pure bliss on her face as she ate the sweet treat. Even so, one of her tiny hands gripped Jeanne's skirt tightly, terrified that her two kind sisters might vanish if she let go.
Jeanne's gaze sharpened as she read the information on the screen.
The device showed the file for Cecilia's mother, Feoria, who lived in the Stivan district. Her current marital status was listed as... Unmarried. No children.
As for Cecilia, there was no record of her in the Notarial Hall's registry at all. In other words, in the eyes of Laterano, this child didn't exist. She was a ghost—an "illegal inhabitant."
Even without knowing the specifics of Cecilia's family, Jeanne realized that this situation was far more complicated than a simple case of a lost child.